A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
by little0bird
Summary: 'I don't even want to be a knight,' Brienne stated with an indifference that Jaime knew belied the truth. He caught the look Podrick sent to her. It spoke louder than if the squire had shouted. Stop lying to yourself.


A/N: I heard about the song 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,' a few weeks ago and was enchanted by it.

I've never written a songfic before... Are they passe now? But I wanted to write the knighting scene from Jaime's point-of-view. What went through his mind... the depths of his respect and love for her...

I hope you enjoy.

* * *

**If you want this**

**You could have it**

**Hell you've earned it**

**A thousand times**

'Jaime Lannister… fabled hero of the Siege of Pyke,' Tyrion intoned.

'Fabled loser of the Battle of Whispering Wood,' Jaime corrected dryly. He stood and ambled to the sideboard to refill his empty cup.

'Hear, hear.' Tyrion continued with the next person. 'Ser Brienne of Tarth… Defeated the Hound.' Tyrion paused, then added, in as close to an apology as Brienne would have of him, 'Pardon me… _Lady _Brienne.'

'She's not a Ser?' Tormund blurted incredulously, offended on Brienne's behalf, glaring at the other men in the circle, clearly holding them responsible for this outrageous oversight. Jaime wondered how a man like Tormund knew about knights and knighthood. It wasn't a Northern tradition, bound as it was to the Faith of the Seven and Andal culture. He then remembered hearing that Tormund had been an ally of Jon Snow's for years, and surely the wildling had learned a thing or two about Westerosi customs. Tormund turned his attention back to Brienne. 'You're not a knight?'

Brienne replied with the resigned, matter-of-fact air of someone who'd had to explain this a hundred times, 'Women can't be knights.'

Jaime set the jug back onto the table, giving, giving her a thoughtful glance. If anyone in this room deserved the title of Ser, it was Brienne. Honor. Loyalty. Courage. She wore them as if they were the finest silks from Essos.

'Why not?' Tormund sounded puzzled, as if the concept that there was something women couldn't do was completely alien to him. Jaime turned back to the small group.

'Tradition,' Brienne replied shortly, as if the word tasted sour in her mouth.

'Fuck tradition,' Tormund grunted, voice dripping with scorn for idiotic southern traditions. Jaime let a small smile lift corner of his mouth. He had to give the wilding man credit for trying to find some bit of common ground with a woman he so obviously admired.

**Cause I know this**

**Is your heart's wish**

**Been dreaming about it**

**For your whole life**

'I don't even want to be a knight,' Brienne stated with an indifference that Jaime knew belied the truth. He caught the look Podrick sent to her. It spoke louder than if the squire had shouted. _Stop lying to yourself. _

Tomund leaned forward slightly. 'I'm no king. But if I were, I'd knight you ten times over,' he told her with the intensity of a lover detailing every last freckle of their paramour's body.

An idea began to take shape in Jaime's head. _Why didn't you think of this before? _ He could have kicked himself for not thinking of it himself. 'You don't need a king,' he said. 'Any knight can make another knight.' Jaime set his cup down with a _thump _. 'I'll prove it.' He drew his sword as he strode a few paces away, the Valyrian steel singing sweetly in the dark hall. 'Kneel, Lady Brienne.' He pointed to a spot on the floor with his sword, and looked her in the eye.

**So kneel in the firelight**

**Kneel and arise**

**A knight of the Seven Kingdoms**

**From this moment onward**

**For the rest of your life**

**A knight of the Seven Kingdoms **

**A knight of the Seven Kingdoms**

Brienne let out a cynical huff of laughter that irritated Jaime far more than he liked to admit. Surely she knew by now he would never joke about this with her? 'Do you want to be a knight or not?' he asked with an edge of impatience. The expression on Brienne's face shifted as the realization dawned that this was no farce. He meant it. 'Kneel…' he added quietly. Brienne looked away, meeting Podrick's gaze, as if seeking reassurance, once more, that this was not a dream. Podrick gave her the slightest nod. Brienne looked back at Jaime. He nodded once. _Yes, I want to do this for you. _

Brienne rose to her feet, and took a deep breath. She crossed the hall, her eyes never leaving his, coming to a halt to the place he'd indicated. They stood across from one another, and Jaime took a moment to ponder how far they had both come since that long-ago night he'd first met her. _I'm not that person any more _. That person, Jaime knew, would have never given her this moment. He wouldn't have even considered it.

**If I'm honest**

**Never thought this**

**Would be something**

**I'd live to see**

She went down on one knee. Jaime nervously adjusted his grip on his sword. _Don't fuck this up. _ Unbidden, the thought crept into his head that he would have to rename this sword if he lived to see the dawn. Widow's Wail would prove a poor fit after this moment. Jaime lifted the sword and lowered it to her right shoulder. 'In the name of the Warrior, I charge you to be brave.' _Of course you're brave. To suffer the thousands of insults from people who want to stuff you into a tiny box. To live your life on your terms, and damn what anyone else thinks. _

**You're the first one**

**A new iteration**

Jaime lifted the sword and set it down on her left shoulder. 'In the name of the Father, I charge you to be just.' _You could have left those serving wenches the Starks killed hanging from the tree, but you refused to rest until they'd had a decent burial. If only there were more people like you, perhaps this world would be a better place. _

**Expanding tradition**

**And I'm glad that it's me**

Jaime moved the sword back to Brienne's right shoulder. His voice roughened with tightly checked emotion. He'd given up so much to defend the innocents, and yet, he would not hesitate to do it again. 'In the name of the Mother, I charge you to defend the innocent.' _I'm no innocent, yet you defended me to Daenerys Targaryen, Sansa Stark, and Jon Snow. You took Podrick under your wing to keep him safe. You found Sansa and ensured she was reunited with Jon. You know more than anyone how this could cost you your honor, but you'll do it anyway. _

**Saying kneel in the firelight**

**Kneel and arise**

**A knight of the Seven Kingdoms**

Unshed tears shone in her eyes. She met his unwavering gaze. 'Arise Brienne of Tarth, a knight of the Seven Kingdoms.' Brienne's chin trembled, but her mouth curved in a smile as she stood. Jaime's chest felt tight, and he could scarcely draw breath. He was transfixed. He could drown in her eyes.

**From this moment onward**

**For the rest of your life**

**A knight of the Seven Kingdoms**

**A knight of the Seven Kingdoms**

If only other people could see her the way he did. She was everything he had wanted to be when he'd been knighted, when he was still young and idealistic, and everything he wanted to be now. Perhaps he could still be.

Tormund began to clap. Tyrion's voice rang out, 'Ser Brienne of Tarth! Knight of the Seven Kingdoms!' Tyrion added his own applause, along with Davos and Podrick. The noise pierced the bubble surrounding Jaime and Brienne. He had quite forgotten there were other people in the room, and released his pent-up breath, with a start of surprise.

**If we don't last through the long dark night**

**At least I'll know I did one thing right**

Jaime stepped back into the shadows with a nod to Brienne, leaving her as the center of attention. She turned to the others, nearly bursting with pride. The moment of recognition she had always craved, but never allowed herself to admit to wanting. Her smile broadened, and she let out a delighted laugh. The light of a thousand candles blazed from her eyes. His head swam as if he were, in fact, drunk on her smile. _I'm drunk on her sunlight. _

**It's been my honor**

**Serving beside you**

Jaime followed Brienne to their position outside the walls of Winterfell, the frigid air slapping him in the face. _Fuck, I hate the fucking North, _he groused to himself. Brienne shouted orders to the Knights of the Vale. Jaime wasn't surprised to see that they followed her without question. Brienne grabbed his arm, and pulled him to stand at her right, the position a commander granted to the person they trusted the most. He stared at her, brows drawn together in a questioning frown. _Are you certain you want me here? _ Brienne gave him a brief nod.

**Is it too much to **

**Hope when I'm done**

**That if they sing about me**

**They sing that I tried**

**To do right by the Seven Kingdoms**

He wasn't religious as a rule, living his life with the thought that he could pray until the breath left his body, but his actions mattered more than prayers. Formless thoughts coalesced into desperate prayers, begging the Warrior to spare Brienne. _Battlefields make septons of us all, _Jaime noted ruefully. His silent prayers took on a more urgent tone, as he allowed himself the selfish wish that if he were to fall on this field tonight, that Brienne would live and tell his story.

**Saying here lies a good man**

**He lived and he died**

**A knight of the Seven Kingdoms**

Images flashed through his mind as the wind turned impossibly colder. The disdain on her face when she all but shoved him into the skiff on the river. Their sword fight on the bridge. Their capture. The first time she called him Ser Jaime. Their bittersweet farewell in King's Landing when he sent her off, Oathkeeper shining on her hip. Did she know she'd saved him more than once? That she reminded him honor was still something to strive toward, even in a cynical and vicious world? Jaime closed his eyes for a moment. The smile on her face after he knighted her. That smile that could drive back the darkness. The last thing he wanted to see when he died, whether it was this night or in one of the nights to come, was Brienne's smile.

His father was wrong. His legacy wasn't his name or his House. It wasn't his children. It wouldn't even be the Kingsguard.

**A knight of the Seven**

**In the light of the Seven**

**A knight of the Seven Kingdoms**

His legacy was Ser Brienne of Tarth, a Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

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A/N: The dialogue comes from 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdroms' written by Bryan Cogman.

The song is also 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' written by and perfromed by Jenny Owen Youngs.


End file.
